Cincinnati, OH – The Toledo Walleye defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones by a score of 3-2 at the Heritage Bank Center tonight. The Walleye scored three times on the power play on six chances as Denis Smirnov and Riley McCourt each had three points on the man-advantage. Smirnov recorded the first two goals, the first from McCourt and Hawkins and the second from McCourt and Tanner Kelly. Hawkins scored the third goal, which ended up being the game-winner, to bring him up to 383 points with the Walleye (needing 10 more to tie Shane Berschbach’s record). Carter Gylander manned the net, stopping 26 of 28 shots he saw. 

How it Happened:

Jacob Truscott took the game’s first penalty 2:10 in on an interference call, putting the Cyclones on the power play early. The Walleye had a short-handed opportunity and eventually killed off the penalty.

Toledo got their first power play chance at the 13:59 mark of the first as Nick Rhéaume’s elbow flew high on Colin Swoyer, earning him an elbowing minor. Despite having a 48% power play success rate against the Cyclones coming into this game, the Walleye did not convert on the opportunity.

The Walleye were caught with too many men on the ice with 1:27 left to go in the first, leading to the two-minute bench minor that would last the remainder of the first period. They killed off the final 33 seconds of the penalty as the second period began.

Jordan Ernst was called for a slash, Toledo’s third penalty of the night at the 5:28 mark of the second period. Sam Stevens finally broke the scoreless tie on the power play for Cincinnati just 15 seconds in, scoring his 7^th goal of the season (first this year against Toledo) to give the Cyclones the 1-0 lead in the second. 

Toledo saw their second power-play chance of the night on a high-stick by Aaron Chiarot just past the halfway point of the game, Cincinnati’s second minor penalty of the night. Denis Smirnov got the Walleye on the board with the opportunity, scoring his 13^th goal of the season on the power play to tie the game at one goal each. Riley McCourt and Brandon Hawkins got the assists on the goal at the 10:28 mark of the first.

Sam Stevens and Tanner Dickinson each got roughing minors, each going to the box for two minutes of 4-on-4 hockey at the 15:08 mark of the second. Jake Johnson took an additional slashing penalty with 34 seconds to go in the roughing minors, giving Toledo a 4-on-3 chance until the previous penalties expire. No goals came of the penalties as the game remained tied at 1 as the second period came to a close.

Sam Stevens was called for a charging minor after colliding with Carter Gylander in the net at the 5:10 mark of the third, giving Toledo their 4^th power play of the day. Smirnov scored his second goal of the night, also on the power play, to give the Walleye the 2-1 lead at the 6:29 mark of the third. Assists on the second power-play goal came from Riley McCourt and Tanner Kelly.

The Walleye went back to the box just under halfway through the third period as Dylan Moulton took a holding minor to give Cincinnati their fourth power play chance of the day. The Walleye killed off the penalty again while getting a good shorthanded look. 

Sam Stevens took his third penalty of the day on an interference call at the 12:34 of the third period, giving Toledo their fifth power play of the night and the opportunity to add an insurance goal to extend their lead late in the game. Brandon Hawkins scored to extend Toledo’s lead to 3-1 on the power play, his 24^th goal of the season with 5:59 to go in regulation, his third power-play point of the night. Riley McCourt got his third primary assist on the power-play on the goal, and Denis Smirnov got his third power-play point with the secondary assist.

The Cyclones got one back with 3:45 to go, as Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored his 13^th goal of the season to bring the game back within one. They pulled Ken Appleby with two minutes to go for the extra attacker, looking to tie the game once again. 

Their pressure came to a screeching halt though as they took a bench minor for too many men with 43 seconds to go, putting Toledo on their 6^th power play. Cincinnati opted to pull Appleby again with 30 seconds to go once they gained possession of the puck, but the effort was unsuccessful as Toledo held on for the 3-2 win. They outshot the Cyclones 32-28 throughout the game and went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill in addition to going 3-for-6 on the power play. 

Three Stars:

1 – F Denis Smirnov, TOL (2 PPG, 1 PPA)

2 – G Carter Gylander, TOL (26 SV, .929 SV%)

3 – F Sam Stevens, CIN (1 G, 6 PIM)

What’s Next:

Toledo will face off against the Cyclones again tomorrow at the Huntington Center, looking to defend tonight’s win and continue their dominance on the power play. Puck drop for tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day showdown is set for 7:15 PM.